Method of making wood heels



Dec. 29, 1931. A, F COOK 1,838,807

METHOD OF MAKING WOOD HEELS Filed May 21, 1928 2 sheetssheet 1 /NL/ENTR-Dec. 29, 1931. A, F COCK 1,838,807

METHOD OF MAKING WOOD HEELS Filed May 2l, 1928 `2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatemedDec. 29, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFl'cE ARTHUR F. COOK, 0FHA'VERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS', ASSIGNOR T0 UNITED SHOE INIA- CHINERYCORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY METHODor MAKING Woon iEEELs Application led May 21, 1928. Serial No. 279,453.

This invention relates to the making of wood heels.

In the making of wood heels as heretofore .practised the irst operation'performed on the heel blank (which is in the formof-a trapezoidalprism, the sides of the heel being formed from the end faces of theprism) has been grooving, or cutting the breast curve. The groove thuscut is horizontal in the case of Louis heels and vertical in the case ofCuban heels. In the grooving of a Cuban heel blank the blank has beengaged from the side, and in the grooving of a Louis heel blank the blankhas been gaged from the heel seat surface. The next operation has beenthe turning or shaping of the sides and back of the heel, and inasmuchas the cutter cuts away the flat sides and back of the heel blank, thegaging has been done from the already finished breast only, and therewas no insurance of proper lateral positioning of the blank, suchpositioning depending solely on the operator s skill. In the case ofCuban heels, especially, in which the breast groove is vertical, aslight lateral error in position might place the lateral surface cut inthe turning operation in hopelessly wrong relation to the breast curve.

The next operation has been concaving, or cutting the cup-shapedheel-seat-receiving surface at the upper end of the heel blank, theblank being held in a Babbitt metal mold or chuck made to fit thecontour of the lateral and rear faces of the heel. Such molds areexpensive and troublesome and often inaccurate, and the results of thisoperation have been unsatisfactory. For example, the flat rim around theupper surface of the heel where it intersects the lateral and rear faceshas often been of uneven width, due to the imperfection of the gagingapparatus.

In short, it has heretofore been difficult to form these three principalsurfaces of the heel in proper relation to one another, due to the factthat there is no definite relation between' the respective gagingoperations which recede their formation, the breast groove eing gagedfrom the side or heel seat surface of the blank, the lateral surfacebeing gaged from the groove, and the cup or heel seat: surface beinggaged .from the lateral surface.

The present invention avoids these difficulties by providing for gagingeach of the three operations re erred to from a fiat lateral surface ofthe blank, and preferably gaging all three from the same fiat lateralsurface, so that the surfaces formed in these operations can be formedin definite predetermined relations to one another. This is accomlished, -in accordance with this invention, y interchanging the order ofthese three operations, the turning operation being last, the fiatlateral surfaces of the blank being preserved throughout the other twooperations, and each of the three operations being gaged from a flatlateral surface of the blan The invention will be understood from thefollowing descrip-tion taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which Fig. l shows a heel blank as it exists prior lto anyof the three forming operations discussed; y

Fig. 2 illustrates the grooving operation as performed on a Cuban heelblank;

Fig. 3 illustrates the grooved Cuban heel blank;

Fig. 4 illustrates the concaving operation on the blank shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 illustrates the concaved blank;

Fig. 6 illustrates the turning operation as performed on the blank shownin Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a perspective detail of the machine shown in Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 illustrates the turned blank.

The illustrated wood heel blank (Fig. 1) is of trapezoidal prismaticform, the trapezoids A B F E and D C G H forming the ends of the prismand the other faces being rectangular. The breast of the heel is formedfrom the face A B C D, the heel seat surface from the face B F Gr C andthe lateral surfaces (the sides and back) fromthe facesAEFB,DHGCandEFGH. Inthe case of Louis heels the breast groove is anirregular cylindrical surface with its elements parallel to the edges BC, A D; in the case of Cuban heels the breast groove is a substantiallycircular cylindrical surface with its elements substantially parallel tothe lines A B, D C (Fig. 3). In the case of the Louis heel grooved asabove described, a certain latitude is permissible in the sidewiselocation of the heel seat and lateral surfaces provided they themselvesare properly locate'd relatively to each other, and gaging the Louisheel blank from the side in the grooving operation is therefore not soimportant. But if the shank lip of the Louls heel blank is curved beforethe turning operation, it is necessary that the side surfaces becentered with the curved lip, and gaging fromaside fa'ceAEFBorDHGCistherefore necessary.

In accordance with the present invention, the breast grooving and heelseat concaving operations are performed first, the turning operationbeing performed last. In the iirst two operations the heel blank is heldin any convenient; manner and gaged from one of the flat side faces A EF B, D H G C.

The two operations referred to having been performed, the blank isplaced in a turning machine and gaged again from the faceAEFBorDI-IGC.

It is not necessary that the same lateral faceAEFBorDHGCbeusedinallthree operations provided the blanks run with a uniform dimension A D,since then gaging from either face is equivalent to gaging from theother. l

Each of the three operations. is thus gaged from what is a'ctually or ineffect the same flat side of the blank and the pr er relation betweenthe surfaces produced y them is assured.

The practice of this method is illustrated in the drawings. Fig. 1 showsthe untreated blank. Fig. 2 illustrates the grooving operation asperformed on a Cuban heel blank. The blank is clamped between two jaws10-12, and its face A E F B is gaged by an adjustable gage 14 set by ascrew 15. The gage 14 has, in this instance, a shoulder 16 gaging theface A B C D also. The blank thus held is passed relatively over thegrooving cutter 18. The grooved blank is shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 4 illustrates the concaving operation, in which the correspondingparts are numbered in the same way as in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 shows theconcaved heel blank formed by this operation. Obviously either of theoperations illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4 may be performed first.

The turning operation, which, according to the present invention, is thelast of the three, is illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. The turning machine,only those parts of which that are essential to an understanding of thepresent invention being shown, is of the ordinary type, except that itis provided with a gage 20 having integrally connected thereto a cam 22by means of a bolt 23 and swinging on a shaft 24 between operative andinoperative positions in which it is held by the pressure of a s ring 26on the faces 28, 30, respectively, of) the cam '22. The gage is shown inoperative position, and `is thrown downward and backward when ininoperative position to permit the cutter 32 to trim the gaged sideface, A E F B, of the blank. The blank is mounted in the machine asusual and its side face A E F B gaged against the gage 20, which is thenmoved to inoperative position, clear of the cutter-path.

A gage which is movable from operative position to permit treatment ofthe gaged face is claimed in my application Serial N o. 274,583, filedMay 2, 1928, and is not claimed herein.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of making wood heels which consists infirst grooving a heel blank having a flat lateral surface, subsequentlyconcaving the heel blank, and turning the rear and lateral surfaces ofthe heel blank after the concaving operation has been performed, thethree said operations being gaged from the same fiat lateral surface ofthe blank.

2. That improvement in methods of making wood heels which consists ingaging the heel blank from the same fiat lateral surface in thegrooving, concaving and turning operations.

3. That improvement in methods of making wood heels which consists inaging the heel blank from a fiat lateral sur ace in the grooving,concaving and turning operations.

4. That improvement in methods of making wood heeels which consists ingaging a heel blank from the same flat lateral surface in two successiveoperations in different machines.

5. That improvement in methods of making wood heels which consists ingaging a heel blank in one machine from one of its flat lateral surfacesand then cutting a concavity in the heel seat surface of the heel blank,and then, in another machine, gaging the heel from the same surface incutting the lateral and rear surfaces of the heel.

6. That improvement in methods of making wood heels which consists inplacing a :heel blank having a fiat surface in a holder,

gaging it therein from the said flat surface, performing a manufacturingoperation on said blank while gaged in said holder, transferring theheel blank to a second holder, gaging it therein by the same said atsurface, and performing a second manufacturin operation on said blankwhile gaged in said second holder.

7. That improvement in methods of making Wood heels which consists inmaking a heel blank adequate in size for the making of one heel only,and having a fiat face, and gaging the heel blank from the said fiatface 1n two manufacturing operations in two dfferent machines.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ARTHUR F. COOK.

